Course Texts and MaterialsThe Call to Write, Brief 3rd ed., by John TrimburQuick Access, 4th ed., by Lynn Quitman Troyka
Pocket folder or small binder to use as a Portfolio, containing all completed
course work

The purpose
of this course is, as the official course description states, "an intensive
course in writing that emphasizes skill in organization and awareness of styles
of writing and levels of usage as ways of expressing and communicating experiences."
Unlike other writing emphasis courses that cover specific disciplinary material,
the heart of our writing course are the texts that you and your classmates will
write. The course will introduce several genres you'll attempt to master through
careful drafting, collaboration, revision, workshopping, and peer review. Attention
will be paid to the principles of effective written communication, including,
but not limited to the connections among purpose and audience, self and audience,
grammar, style, syntax, and punctuation. Our course will treat writing as a
process by offering both written and verbal feedback that will help shape revision.
The texts your write during the semester will not be considered "final"
until you hand in your Portfolio at the end of the semester.

The substance of
this course will be to help you become aware of the kinds of rhetorical decisions
and adjustments you can make so that you will write effectively not only for
your university professors but in the world beyond campus as well. Writing effectively
can pave a way toward understanding, respect, and power. Nurturing your ability
to foster understanding, gain respect, and actualize your personal power is
the deep purpose of this course.

The general
education goals which this course is designed to meet include: (*) learning
to communicate effectively in writing; (*) learning to think critically and
analytically; (*) learning to respond thoughtfully to diversity; and (*) becoming
prepared to lead productive and contributing lives. For each assignment, we'll
explore how our work can help you move toward achieving these worthwhile goals.

The method of
this course is listed in the course catalog as "lecture," but
that will hardly be the case during the majority of our class sessions, which
will be overwhelmingly participatory and collaborative. I may lecture (infrequently)
to explain concepts related to effective writing practices, but more typically
my role will be to provide you with methods to practice, to coordinate exploratory
discussions and to guide editorial relationships among you and your peers. Many
of our classes will involve reading and discussing your own work, the work of
fellow students, and the work of professional writers who can provide inspiration.

Along the way,
make your goal the discovery of procedures that work best for the progress of
your own writing in particular. Consider your essays as works in progress which
may require much planning, drafting, revision, and editing. For each essay,
you'll consider and reconsider your thesis; you'll engage in peer review and
obtain instructor feedback to help you discover your audience's response. Each
of your major papers should be significantly developed, revised, and edited
to achieve the most effective prose possible.

Reading assignments
from the texts should help you recognize genres, writing styles and strategies
you may apply in your own papers. The text can help you better understand strengths
and weaknesses in writing, an understanding you can apply in your own revisions.
Our text is also a great source of planning, drafting, and revising strategies.
Readings and exercises are an essential element of the course; it's expected
that any readings assigned will be completed before you come to class, so that
you can get the maximum benefit from any discussion or classwork that may follow.

Writing assignments
are the heart of the course. The majority of the writing will be several polished
essays that will undergo workshopping and revision; in addition there may be
several brief in class or homework writing assignments related to the larger
assignments. All assignments will challenge you to demonstrate rhetorical, stylistic,
and grammatical control while thinking critically about a topic important to
you. As part of your final portfolio assignment, you'll tag three of the best
essays in your portfolio to average for the essay portion of your semester grade.
DO NOT see this as an opportunity to skip any of the assignments. ALL ASSIGNED
ESSAYS MUST BE COMPLETED. STUDENTS WHO DO NOT COMPLETE EACH OF THE WRITING ASSIGNMENTS
MAY NOT SELECT THEIR BEST WORK AT THE END OF THE SEMESTER. If you do not complete
all writing assignments, your final essay grade will be the average of all assigned
essays instead of your best three. Work not completed will be scored as an F
(55).

Late Work.
All essays and other assignments are due on the date assigned. If a serious
injury, illness, or other emergency prevents you or seems likely to prevent
you from meeting a deadline, make arrangements with me before the assignment
is due, or the day it is due. If no specific arrangement has been made, late
penalties will ensue. Late papers will be assessed a penalty of one letter grade
for every two days late (in our age of email, weekends count). You cannot turn
in an assignment for full credit more than one week after its due date. After
one week, your work can only earn a "D" (numerically 65) or lower.

Portfolio.
Each student is required to hand in a portfolio of all finished formal assignments
at the end of the semester. The portfolios will be accompanied by a "Portfolio
Checklist" (to be distributed), and a Self-Assessment Questionnaire (to
be distributed). You will be given specific instructions in class as to the
presentation of your portfolio at the midterm and again at the end of the semester.
So, in accordance with the Department of English policy, you must keep all of
your completed essays (and other writings) in a folder, which you will turn
in at the end of the semester. The department will keep these for reference
until the following semester (Spring 2005), at which time (between the 12th
and 15th weeks of the semester) you may retrieve your folder from my office
or from one of the English department secretaries in Main Hall. After the 15th
week of the semester the department discards unclaimed portfolios.

Attendance.
I take attendance each class period. Students are expected to attend every class
having read assigned material or prepared assigned homework. Any student who
misses more than three classes may receive a lowered grade. (Absences necessitated
by a student's participation in a University-sanctioned event are not penalized
if the student follows the "excused absence" policy stated in the
University catalog.) After three absences your final grade may be lowered according
to the severity of your absenteeism. Students with extended medical problems
or personal emergencies should notify the Dean of Students, who will contact
me about allowing for necessary adjustments. Athletes, student teachers, band
members, etc., should provide me with a note from the appropriate professor
or coach documenting your need to be away from class. Chronic or extended absence
throughout the semester without consultation or permission from the Dean of
Students will be grounds for failure. These penalties may be waived only in
the case of extreme extenuating circumstances. It is up to the student to provide
official verification from the Dean's office of extenuating circumstances, and
preferably to discuss these issues with me directly via office visit, phone,
or email.

Conferences
are an important part of the course, and you will have the opportunity to
meet with me several times during the semester. Some conferences will take place
in lieu of class and some will be conducted during class. If you need further
conferencing, you can meet with me during scheduled office hours. Each conference
is an opportunity for personalized editorial discussion and evaluation of your
work's progress.

Grades.
The grades you receive on your main essays will emphasize the value of the drafting
and redrafting process that most writers find necessary for the achievement
of effective writing. Due dates for manuscripts will be indicated in advance,
and you will be required to produce the appropriate draft-either a workshop
draft for discussion, or a more polished essay for potential grading-on time.
Essays collected for grades will scored by rubric (see below) and will be marked
with editorial comments as needed. Any time you receive a grade of "IP"
(numerically 65, equivalent to a "D") you should plan to revise your
work. Portfolios will be informally checked at midterm, at which time you may
wish to assess your progress, and discuss your goals with me in conference.
Portfolios will be collected at the end of the semester to determine the student's
final essay grade. At any point during the semester, during regularly scheduled
office hours or in scheduled conferences, students may bring their portfolios
to receive further specific editorial guidance and assessment.

The course grade
you receive at the end of the semester will reflect several aspects of your
work in the course: your ability to complete all course work in a timely fashion,
the quality of your main essays and your effort in revising them effectively,
the quality of your classwork, homework, and participation in class work and
discussion, and your attendance both in class and in conference. The final grade
will be determined as follows:

Writing Center.
If you are having trouble with a writing assignment, do not hesitate to bring
your problem to my attention or bring your essay to the Writing Center in Main
203. The Writing Center offers free professional tutoring to any student who
is writing a paper for any course offered by the college. The staff will assist
students at all stages of the writing process: developing ideas, organizing
drafts, revising, and editing. Tutors will not serve as your proofreaders, however;
their aim is to help you develop your own skills. You may need to call ahead
for an appointment as the center becomes fairly busy once the semester is under
way. (436-2121) HOURS: M (10-4), Tu (9-5), W (9:30-7:30), Th (10-7:30), F (10-2).
Office of Services for Students with Disabilities. I will make accommodations
for students with disabilities. If you have a disability, please make your needs
known to me and contact the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities
at 436-3217 for further support or information.

Diversity and
Fair Language. You are required by University policy to use nondiscriminatory
language and to treat all issues of diversity respectfully (including, but not
limited to, race sex/gender, ethnicity, disability, and sexual orientation).
Read Quick Access, pp.101-103.

Academic Honesty.
Plagiarism of any type is a serious academic offense that can result in a failing
grade on an assignment, failure of the course, or referral to academic judicial
affairs, depending upon the instructor's judgment. You are plagiarizing if you
lift either ideas or word-for-word passages from a published book, article,
or website without giving credit to the author; pass off another student's work
as your own; or allow a "helper" to actually write parts of your paper
for you. Don't do it!!! If you have any questions about how to use sources properly,
approach me or one of the tutors in the Writing Center. You can also read Quick
Access, pp. 126-134.

COURSE
OUTLINE

Please note that
the assignments and/or dates on this schedule are subject to change during the
course of the semester. Changes will always be announced in class and on the
course website: http://www.brainstorm-services.com/wcu-2004.

Week 1
INTRODUCTIONS. Freewriting. Rhetorical situation and writing as a process.
Readings: "You Are Exhausted By Risk" (handout/web). Writing: Produce
2-3 pages on the topic of "IDENTITY." You choose the form, style,
content, and mode of presentation. Looking for thought and/or feeling, and your
personal stamp. Due 9/1 or 9/2.

Week 10
Don't forget Election Day is Nov. 2!! Make sure you vote!! LETTERS. What is unique about the letter genre? Readings: Trimbur 109-133
(establishing and maintaining relationships). Other readings TBA.

NOTE: Missing assignments are recorded as an "F" (numerically
50), a score extremely damaging to your overall average. It's therefore to your
advantage to complete an assignment you may find difficult and receive an IP
(and then revise) than to neglect to hand in an assignment completely. Keep
in mind, however, that late papers, unless specific arrangements are made, can
only receive a 65 after one week.

A holistic reading
of your essay involves applying the following criteria towards the overall assessment.
Rubrics will be distributed with each essay that reflect these basic criteria.

FOCUS Focus refers to an essay's central idea, expressed as an effective thesis
in the introduction, conclusion, or in different wording throughout the essay.
An essay is well-focused when the thesis is carefully worded and presented prominently.
The thesis is a sentence in the essay which tells the reader both the subject
of the essay and the writer's particular assertion about that subject in general
but explicit terms. An unfocused essay may be too broad or general-the writer
hasn't considered carefully his/her specific assertion about a general subject.
An unfocused essay may be one that does not contain an effective thesis.

DEVELOPMENT
Development refers to the amount of explanation and detail you use to get
your points across to your readers. Development is the "content" of
your essay. Throughout the course you'll learn several rhetorical strategies
for developing your papers effectively based on your overall purpose (expressive,
expository, or persuasive) and your analysis of audience. A well developed essay
is one that uses sufficient explanation and detail to effectively communicate
its message. After a general point is made, the writer takes the time to explain
and support it with specific detail. A well developed essay is one that uses
rhetorical strategies such as narration, description, illustration, comparison/contrast,
cause/effect analysis, process analysis, classification/division, and definition
when appropriate to the writer's purpose. A poorly developed essay is one that
does not develop ideas specifically, in detail, but instead makes general or
vague assertions without explaining or supporting them. A poorly developed essay
may not take advantage of any or enough rhetorical strategies at the writer's
disposal.

ORGANIZATIONOrganization can refer to (1) the essay's overall structure-the presence
and quality of its introduction, body, and conclusion; (2) the essay's overall
unity and coherence; and (3) individual paragraph unity and coherence. The structure
of an essay requires that it have an introduction to focus the reader's attention,
a body to develop the essay's thesis, and a conclusion to explain what the essay
has accomplished and why its ideas are significant. Unity and coherence are
basic, but essential writing principles. A unified essay is one that "sticks
to the point." All statements, explanations, specific detail-everything,
in other words-relates back to the essay's central idea, its thesis. No unrelated
tangents distract the reader's attention from the main idea. An essay without
unity may make several interesting points but they do not add up to support
for your thesis. A coherent essay is one that "makes sense." Coherence
refers to the order of sentences and paragraphs in your essay. In a coherent
essay, ideas follow one another smoothly and logically. The writer uses transitional
statements or phrases when necessary so that no gaping holes open up between
ideas. An incoherent essay is difficult to follow because the writer seems to
ramble from idea to idea without showing any connection.

MECHANICSMechanics is a catch-all term that I use to refer to the correctness of
a paper's grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Errors can be classified as solitary
(only one instance), "occasional" (more than one instance), or "frequent"
(more than, say, three instances). Solitary and occasional errors may be brought
to your attention but will only result in a deduction if there are several different
kinds. Frequent errors can lower your overall grade.

STYLE Although style can be defined several ways, in the sense that I am using
it style refers to a writer's ability to distinguish him or herself through
fluent, creative use of the language. If your use of language is provocative,
colorful, attention-grabbing, then you have style. Your readers will find it
pleasurable reading your essay. If your use of language is effective but predictable,
clear but non-evocative, then you may lack an engaging style, but you've communicated
the necessary information. Lastly, you may have poor style if you (1) overuse
the passive voice; (2) write too many windy, wordy sentences with excessive
clauses or conjunctions; (3) write too many short, choppy sentences; (4) frequently
use inflated, unnecessarily formal language; (5) frequently use slang, jargon,
or colloquial language; (6) fail to vary your sentence structure sufficiently.

Note: Remember that any essay receiving a mark of IP may be revised,
provided it was not handed in late and is not severely short of the required
length. Revised essays are due one week from the date they are returned, or
with the final portfolio. I advise you to discuss your revision strategy with
me before you start so that you optimize your chances for raising your grade.
The original essay and the rubric must be submitted along with the revised version-I
will not accept revisions without the original and rubric attached.